Policing in the 21st

Century: Leadership

Challenges and

New Realities Communications

by

Darrel W. Stephens

Introduction Police leaders have always faced difficult chal-

lenges in the effort to create and maintain safe

communities. From the widespread civil diso-

bedience of the 1960s and ‘70s to the Occupy

Movement that began in 2011, and from gang

warfare to Internet predators, the police have al-

ways needed to adapt to changing political, so-

cial, and economic circumstances.

Some changes have been transformative in

shaping contemporary policing strategies. Ad-

vances in technology, improved education and

training, and increasingly sophisticated analyti-

cal modeling have all had significant positive

impacts on the profession. Other changes have

presented daunting challenges for police lead-

ers. Managing communication in the hyper-

connected world of social media is testing most

agencies’ abilities to balance transparency and

investigative integrity. And, as departments

wrestle with the most significant funding cuts

that current leaders have ever seen, a growing

The BJA Executive Session on Police

Leadership was a multi-year endeavor

(2010-2014) with a goal to develop in-

novative thinking that would help cre-

ate police leaders uniquely qualified to

meet the challenges of a changing pub-

lic safety landscape.

In support of an integrated approach

to creating safe and viable communi-

ties across America, the project direc-

tors recruited 20+ principals from a

range of disciplines. The principals, in

turn, led national field teams of practi-

tioners focused on the work of policing

and the organization of the future.

To gain new insights on leadership, the

BJA Executive Session on Police Lead-

ership engaged police chiefs in docu-

menting their own paths and invited

leaders to participate in various audio

and video forums to tell their stories

and discuss the future of policing and

police leadership.

Please visit our website, http://bjaexec-

utivesessiononpoliceleadership.org/, to

learn more about this project and to

access a broad array of interactive,

multimedia resources.

The principals were supported in their

work by a team that included project

co-directors Darrel W. Stephens and

Bill Geller, project strategist Nancy

McKeon, and BJA Senior Policy Advi-

sor Steve Edwards.

2013

Policing in the 21st Century: Leadership Challenges and New Realities ̶ Communications

2

number of police observers suggest that current policing strategies in America are simply not

sustainable because of the cost (Gascon and Foglesong 2010). As the police grapple with a

diminished ability to deliver services, communities and businesses have turned to private se-

curity to improve their sense of safety. This trend leaves high-poverty neighborhoods, where

crime is concentrated, even more vulnerable because police cannot be as attentive and cannot

afford to fill the gaps.

The leadership challenges these issues present led the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) to

create the Executive Session on Police Leadership. Its focus is on developing the quality po-

lice leaders that America’s communities need in the 21st century. One way of developing po-

licing leaders is to identify the challenges they are likely to encounter and provide them with

insight that might help address these challenges more effectively. The Executive Session has

developed a series of brief white papers to describe the challenges and realities. This paper

addresses communications.

The Changing World of Communications The past 20 years have brought revolutionary changes to

the world of communications. Newspapers and television

news have experienced significant losses of public confi-

dence: in 2013, a Gallup survey found that only 23% of

the American people have a great deal or a lot of confi-

dence in the information provided by these institutions

(Mendes 2013). The public has increasingly turned to ca-

ble television, the Internet, and social media for news and

information. Social media giants like Facebook and Twit-

ter that were not around 10 years ago today have 1.1 bil-

lion and 500 million users, respectively (Smith 2013). The

recent sale of the venerable, family-owned newspaper,

The Washington Post, to the entrepreneur founder of Am-

azon, the world’s largest online retailer, is a dramatic example of the sea change taking

place in the field.

These changes have created a paradox for police leaders—there have never been more

low-cost avenues for communicating with the public and employees, yet the complexity

of reaching target audiences has increased dramatically. Before the Internet, email, and

social media, the police had to rely on the news media as their primary way of connecting

with the public. A press conference or news releases were the customary vehicles for

sharing information with reporters who then shaped articles for print and electronic

broadcasts. Although traditional media relations continues to be a focus for many police

agencies, it is being supplemented or even supplanted by unmediated communications di-

rectly from police to its target audiences via email/text blasts, websites, and social media

venues like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Some police agencies have begun position-

ing their public information functions as departmental news bureaus, developing news

websites and drawing the public to these sites through various social media applications.

Boston, Milwaukee, and Seattle have all created news websites to help keep the public

informed about crime and policing issues. The Boston news website, “BPD News,” was

an important source of information on the investigation of the terrorist bombing at the

On the world stage, the most

significant impact of the

spread of communications

technologies will be the way

they help reallocate the con-

centration of power away

from states and institutions

and transfer it to individuals.

Eric Schmidt

Jared Cohen

The New Digital Age

Policing in the 21st Century: Leadership Challenges and New Realities ̶ Communications

3

2013 Boston Marathon. Its effective use of Twitter immediately following the incident

and during the subsequent investigation, manhunt, and capture of the suspects earned the

BPD considerable accolades.

Current Realities The choices the public has for obtaining infor-

mation have exploded over the last 20 years. While

cable television was the first to provide 24/7 news

programming, the World Wide Web and mobile

technology have put that news directly into the

hands of citizens, offering instant access and the

ability to not just consume news, but to create and

share news. Research by the Pew Internet Project

found that 85% of adults (18+) in America used

the Internet in 2013—up from 14% in 1995 (Pew

Internet 2013). Internet use is essentially the same

for whites (86%) and African–Americans (85%),

while use among Hispanics is 76% (Pew Internet 2013). Mobile devices are nearly ubiq-

uitous, as 91% of adults have cell phones, 56% have smartphones, 31% use tablet com-

puters, and 61% use laptops (Pew Internet 2013). This trend underscores people’s expec-

tations for information on demand, the ability to receive almost real-time updates, and the

desire to actively participate in the exchange.

This increasingly complex and demanding communications environment creates both

enormous opportunities and challenges for police. Diverse audiences with wide-ranging

interests and varying levels of engagement coupled with the expectation that information

can be meaningfully conveyed in 140 characters or less puts considerable pressure on po-

lice to reinvent their communication functions. The complexity of the issues—crime,

safety, resources, policies, costs, use of force, misconduct, and others—requires well-

crafted strategies with thoughtful and concise messages delivered using the most appro-

priate vehicles—news media, website, social media, email, regular mail, video, audio, in-

person meeting, special events, or other means. Messages on complex issues delivered

through the appropriate method in a world where instantaneous communications are ex-

pected can be a daunting task for police leaders today.

Challenges for Police Leaders The goals of the police—whatever they might be—cannot be achieved without a broad,

integrated approach to communications. Establishing and communicating a clear sense of

what happened in a critical situation becomes exponentially more difficult when people

clamor for instantaneous updates and when various sources, both official and unofficial,

prematurely release (often incorrect) information to a waiting public. For example, a

study of the 7.8 million messages sent via Twitter in the first 100 hours following the

2013 Boston Marathon bombing found that just 20% of the tweets contained factually ac-

curate information (Gupta, Lamba, and Kumaraguru, 2013).

Strategic communication is at the

core of effective leadership.

Through a leader's use of verbal

and written symbols employees are

motivated or deflated, informed or

confused, productive or apathetic.

A leader's ability to carve off the

verbal fat and get to the meat of an

issue, idea or plan will find success

at every turn.

Reed Markham

Policing in the 21st Century: Leadership Challenges and New Realities ̶ Communications

4

Internal employee communication is as important as external communication. In fact,

some might argue that one cannot have good external communication if internal commu-

nication is lacking. The challenges include:

Staying on the right side of the “digital divide.” Police leaders must understand

the digital world and the range and uses of technologies their employees and the

public are using.

Developing policies and practices that take advantage of the new communications

tools while ensuring employees understand the parameters for using the tools,

both officially and personally.

Developing and maintaining relationships with the traditional news media as they

continue to evolve and change in response to shifts in news production and con-

sumption. While the traditional media is not often the best way of reaching a di-

verse community, it can have influence on political leaders and public opinion.

Developing a strategic communications plan and properly resourcing the function.

Police leaders must think and act strategically to take full advantage of today’s

communications opportunities.

Developing Police Leaders Developing future leaders requires thought and investments on the part of the individual,

managers, and employers. Individuals should establish career goals and try to position

themselves for work, education, and training opportunities that move them toward

achieving those goals. Managers should be looking for situations that provide opportuni-

ties for challenging work assignments that give employees experience that will enhance

their skills. And employers have an obligation to provide continuous training for employ-

ees. The importance of effective communication offers opportunities for developing fu-

ture leaders. Aspiring public police leaders could:

Participate in the development or updating of the department’s communication

plan.

Help develop appropriate policies for the use of social media by the department

and employees.

Reach out to the news media representatives to develop relationships and to un-

derstand the communication challenges they face.

Participate in workshops and training on improving skills in dealing with the news

media and effectively integrating social media into the public information func-

tion.

Establish a presence on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and

LinkedIn.

Policing in the 21st Century: Leadership Challenges and New Realities ̶ Communications

5

References

Gascon, George and Todd Foglesong. 2010. “Making Policing More Affordable: Manag-

ing Costs and Measuring Value in Policing.” New Perspectives in Policing, Harvard Ken-

nedy School and the National Institute of Justice.

Gupta, Aditi, Hemank Lamba, and Ponnurangam Kumaraguru. 2013. “$1.00 per RT

#BostonMarathon #PrayForBoston: Analyzing Fake Content on Twitter.” http://pre-

cog.iiitd.edu.in/Publications_files/ecrs2013_ag_hl_pk.pdf .

Markham, Reed. “Search Quotes.” www.searchquotes.com/quotation/Strategic_commu-

nication_is_at_the_core_of_effective_leadership._Through_a_leader's_use_of_ver-

bal_and/29483/ (accessed August 26, 2013).

Mendes, Elizabeth. 2013. “Americans’ Confidence in Newspapers Continues to Erode.”

Gallup Politics. www.gallup.com/poll/163097/americans-confidence-newspapers-contin-

ues-erode.aspx (accessed June 17, 2013).

Pew Internet. 2013. Pew Internet & American Life Project Surveys, March 2000–May

2013. Pew Internet. www.pewinternet.org/Trend-Data-(Adults)/Internet-Adoption.aspx.

Schmidt, Eric and Jared Cohen. 2013. The New Digital Age. Alfred A Knopf, New York.

Smith, Craig. 2013. “How Many People Use the Top Social Media, Apps & Services?”

Digital Marketing Ramblings… July 14, 2013. http://expandedramblings.com/in-

dex.php/resource-how-many-people-use-the-top-social-media/.

Cite as: Stephens, D.W. (2013) “Policing in the 21st Century: Leadership Challenges and

New Realities ̶ Communications” A paper of the BJA Executive Session on Police Lead-

ership. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice; and

St. Petersburg, FL: Center for Public Safety Innovation, St. Petersburg College.

6/24/2014

http://bjaexecutivesessiononpoliceleadership.org/

This paper was developed by the “World of the Future” initiative of the BJA Executive

Session on Police Leadership.

The author is Darrel W. Stephens, Executive Director of the Major Cities Chiefs Associa-

tion and retired (2008) Charlotte-Mecklenburg, NC Chief of Police. Darrel is also the Co-

Director of the BJA Executive Session on Police Leadership.

Policing in the 21st Century: Leadership Challenges and New Realities ̶ Communications

6

This project was supported by Grant #2009-D2-BX-K003 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance,

U.S. Department of Justice, to St. Petersburg College. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of

the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of

Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the SMART Office, and the Office for

Victims of Crime. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the author and do not represent

the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.

“Recipient acknowledges that the Office of Justice Programs reserves a royalty-free, non-exclusive, and

irrevocable license to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use, and authorize others to use (in whole or in part,

including in connection with derivative works), for Federal purposes: (1) the copyright in any work devel-

oped under an award or subaward; and (2) any rights of copyright to which a recipient or subrecipient pur-

chases ownership with Federal support. Recipient acknowledges that the Office of Justice Programs has the

right to (1) obtain, reproduce, publish, or otherwise use the data first produced under an award or subaward;

and (2) authorize others to receive, reproduce, publish, or otherwise use such data for Federal purposes. It is

the responsibility of the recipient (and of each subrecipient, if applicable) to ensure that this condition is

included in any subaward under this award.”